Portal:Tennis

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Welcome to the Tennis Portal

Panoramic view of Stadium Court in Tennis Center at Crandon Park, Key Biscayne, Florida, United States. Taken during the 2009 Sony Ericsson Open.

Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over or around a net and into the opponent's court. The object of the game is to manoeuvre the ball in such a way that the opponent is not able to play a valid return. The player who is unable to return the ball validly will not gain a point, while the opposite player will.

Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society and at all ages. The sport can be played by anyone who can hold a racket, including wheelchair users. The original forms of tennis developed in France during the late Middle Ages. The modern form of tennis originated in Birmingham, England, in the late 19th century as lawn tennis. It had close connections both to various field (lawn) games such as croquet and bowls as well as to the older racket sport today called real tennis.

The rules of modern tennis have changed little since the 1890s. Two exceptions are that until 1961 the server had to keep one foot on the ground at all times, and the adoption of the tiebreak in the 1970s. A recent addition to professional tennis has been the adoption of electronic review technology coupled with a point-challenge system, which allows a player to contest the line call of a point, a system known as Hawk-Eye. (Full article...)

More about Tennis history, glossary, equipment, courts, scores, types of matches, officials, shots, tournaments, and statistics

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Image 1

Drawing by Jacques-Louis David of the Tennis Court Oath.

The Tennis Court Oath (French: Serment du Jeu de Paume) was taken on 20 June 1789 by the members of the French Third Estate in a tennis court on the initiative of Jean Joseph Mounier. Their vow "not to separate and to reassemble wherever necessary until the Constitution of the kingdom is established" became a pivotal event in the French Revolution.

The Estates-General had been called to address the country's fiscal and agricultural crisis, but they had become bogged down in issues of representation immediately after convening in May 1789, particularly whether they would vote by order or by head (which would increase the power of the Third Estate, as it outnumbered the other two estates by a large margin). On 17 June, the Third Estate began to call itself the National Assembly, led by Jean Sylvain Bailly. Honoré Gabriel Riqueti, Comte de Mirabeau, took a prominent role. (Full article...)
Image 2
Radio Wimbledon was the official radio station to the annual Wimbledon Tennis Championships at the AELTC in Wimbledon. Their contract finished in 2011. It has now been replaced by the similar Live@Wimbledon station. (Full article...)
Image 3
World number 1 ranked female tennis players is a year-by-year listing of the female tennis players who were ranked as world No. 1 by various contemporary and modern sources.

Notes: (Full article...)
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The US Open men's singles championship is an annual tennis tournament that is part of the US Open and was established in 1881. It is played on outdoor hard courts at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows – Corona Park, New York City, United States. The US Open is played during a two-week period in late August and early September, and has been chronologically the last of the four Grand Slam tournaments of the tennis season since 1987. Newport (1881–1914), Forest Hills (1915–1920, 1924–1977), and Philadelphia (1921–1923) held the event before it settled in 1978 at the USTA National Tennis Center, now the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, in New York City. The inaugural tournament, in 1881, was reserved for United States National Lawn Tennis Association (USNLTA) club members, before the championships opened to international competitors in 1882. The USTA is the national body that organizes this event. (Full article...)
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The 2020 US Open was the 140th edition of tennis's US Open and the second Grand Slam event of the year. It was held on outdoor hard courts at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens, New York. The tournament was an event run by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and was part of the calendars for the 2020 ATP Tour and the 2020 WTA Tour, the top professional men's and women's tennis circuits, respectively.

Held during the COVID-19 pandemic, the tournament saw changes in format and personnel compared to previous editions. As a result, withdrawals and opt-outs became a theme of the competition. Defending men's singles champion and world No. 2 Rafael Nadal and No. 9 Gaël Monfils withdrew due to COVID-19 safety concerns, while No. 4 Roger Federer, No. 12 Fabio Fognini, and No. 15 Stan Wawrinka opted out for other reasons. On the women's side, defending singles champion and world No. 6 Bianca Andreescu did not return due to safety concerns, nor did No. 1 Ashleigh Barty, No. 2 Simona Halep, or No. 5 Elina Svitolina, among others. Further, the qualifying rounds of the tournament, in addition to the mixed doubles and juniors draws, were not held due to the pandemic. (Full article...)
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Qizhong Forest Sports City Arena tennis court

The Shanghai Masters (Chinese: 上海大师赛, also known as Shanghai Rolex Masters for sponsorship reasons) is an annual tennis tournament for male professional players held in Shanghai, China. It is played on outdoor hard courts at the Qizhong Forest Sports City Arena in the Minhang District, and is held in early October. The tournament is part of the nine ATP Tour Masters 1000 events on the ATP Tour, and is the only one not played in Europe or North America.

The tournament was not held from 2020 to 2022 due to Chinese travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic. (Full article...)
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Tennis was part of the Summer Olympic Games program from the inaugural 1896 Summer Olympics, but was dropped after the 1924 Summer Olympics due to disputes between the International Lawn Tennis Federation and the International Olympic Committee over how to define amateur players. After two appearances as a demonstration sport in 1968 and 1984 (with a U-21 age limit), it returned as a full medal sport at the 1988 Summer Olympics open for all players regardless of their age and status and has been played at every summer Games since then.

In 1896, 1900, 1904, 1988, 1992, semifinal losers shared bronze medals. In all other years, a playoff match for the bronze medal was staged. From the 2004 until the 2012 Summer Olympics, results from the Olympics had ranking points that the ATP and WTA added to their players' annual totals in singles for that calendar year. This was discontinued beginning with the 2016 Summer Olympics. While the number of ranking points did not equate with those given at the majors, the Olympic tournaments have increased in perceived importance since their reintroduction, with some players, critics and sports pundits considering winning gold at the Olympics just as prestigious as winning a major title and some considering it even more prestigious. Serena Williams and Venus Williams have each won a record four gold medals, three each as a doubles pairing, the only players to win the same Olympic event on three occasions. Venus Williams (four gold, one silver) and Kathleen McKane Godfree (one gold, two silvers, and two bronzes) are the all-time record holders for the most Olympic tennis medals, with five each. Andy Murray is the only player to have won two singles gold medals, and the only singles player to have retained the Olympic title. Nicolás Massú, Venus Williams, and Serena Williams are the only players in the Open Era to win both the singles and same-sex doubles tournaments at one Games, doing so in 2004, 2000, and 2012 respectively. A player who wins an Olympic or Paralympic gold medal and all four majors in the same year is said to have won a Golden Slam, while a player that has won all four Grand Slam titles and Olympic gold during their career has a 'career Golden Slam'. As of 2021, Steffi Graf is the only player to have won a single-year Golden Slam, in 1988. Serena Williams has won a career Golden Slam twice over, the only singles player to do so. In men's tennis, Andre Agassi and Rafael Nadal have each won career Golden Slams. Multiple doubles players have achieved the feat, with Serena Williams the only player to complete the career Grand Slam in both singles and doubles. In 2021, wheelchair tennis players Diede de Groot and Dylan Alcott achieved the equivalent wheelchair tennis prize with Paralympic gold. (Full article...)
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Jesmond Dene jeu à dedans court in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, view toward service end

Real tennis – one of several games sometimes called "the sport of kings" – is the original racquet sport from which the modern game of tennis (also called "lawn tennis") is derived. It is also known as court tennis in the United States, royal tennis in England and Australia, and courte-paume in France (to distinguish it from longue-paume, and in reference to the older, racquetless game of jeu de paume, the ancestor of modern handball and racquet games). Many French real tennis courts are at jeu de paume clubs.

The term real was first used by journalists in the early 20th century as a retronym to distinguish the ancient game from modern lawn tennis (even though, at present, the latter sport is seldom contested on lawns outside the few social-club-managed estates such as Wimbledon). (Full article...)
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The Open Era is the current era of professional tennis. It began in 1968 when the Grand Slam tournaments allowed professional players to compete with amateurs, ending the division that had persisted in men's tennis since the dawn of the sport in the 19th century. The first "open" tournament was held in Bournemouth, England, followed by the inaugural open Grand Slam tournament a month later. All records are based on data from the Women's Tennis Association (WTA), the International Tennis Federation (ITF), and the official sites of the four Grand Slam tournaments. Active streaks and active players are in boldface. (Full article...)
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The International Tennis Hall of Fame is located in Newport, Rhode Island, United States. It honors both players and other contributors to the sport of tennis. The complex, the former Newport Casino, includes a museum, 13 grass tennis courts, an indoor tennis facility with three courts, three outdoor hard courts, one green clay court, a court tennis facility, and a theatre. The International Tennis Hall of Fame is a non-profit organization with the goal of preserving, celebrating, and inspiring the sport of tennis around the world. (Full article...)
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The Championships, commonly known simply as Wimbledon, is the oldest tennis tournament in the world and is regarded by many as the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London, since 1877 and is played on outdoor grass courts, with retractable roofs over the two main courts since 2019.

Wimbledon is one of the four Grand Slam tournaments, the others being the Australian Open, the French Open, and the US Open. Wimbledon is the only major still played on grass, the traditional tennis playing surface. Also, it is the only Grand Slam that retains a night-time curfew, though matches can now continue until 11.00 pm under the lights. (Full article...)
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The Bentley Fortissimo tennis racquet

The Bentley Fortissimo tennis racquet of 1972 was the first oversize tennis racquet to be produced and demonstrated publicly. Prior to its introduction, all tennis racquets were much smaller in terms of the stringbed size, measured in square inches. Today, that size, known as standard, is not used by any professional player for professional match play.

The Fortissimo was shown in 1972 at the "Spoga", a sporting goods show in Germany. Its designer is Kurt Klemmer, who made the racquet with an epoxy fiberglass process. The Fortissimo was not produced on a commercial scale. Racquet engineer Siegfried Kuebler stated that it did not create a favorable impression with tennis players but was positively received by racquet designers. (Full article...)
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Left elbow-joint. (Lateral epicondyle visible at center.)

Tennis elbow, also known as lateral epicondylitis or enthesopathy of the extensor carpi radialis origin, is an enthesopathy (attachment point disease) of the origin of the extensor carpi radialis brevis on the lateral epicondyle. The outer part of the elbow becomes painful and tender. The pain may also extend into the back of the forearm. Onset of symptoms is generally gradual, although they can seem sudden and be misinterpreted as an injury. Golfer's elbow is a similar condition that affects the inside of the elbow.

Enthesopathies are idiopathic, which means that science has not yet determined the cause. Enthesopathies are most common in middle aged individuals (ages 35 to 60). (Full article...)
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Wimbledon men's wheelchair doubles

Wheelchair tennis is one of the forms of tennis adapted for wheelchair users. The size of the court, net height and rackets are the same, but there are two major differences from pedestrian tennis: athletes use specially designed wheelchairs, and the ball may bounce up to two times, where the second bounce may also occur outside the court.

Wheelchair tennis has been played at all four Grand Slams since 2007, and is one of the sports contested at the Summer Paralympics. There are three categories, Men, Women, and Quads; each category has singles and doubles tournaments. The Quad, the newest division, is for players that have substantial loss of function in at least one upper limb, but may include various disabilities besides quadriplegia. The division is sometimes called Mixed, especially at the Paralympic Games. Quad players often tape the rackets to their hand, to compensate for loss of function, and some players are allowed to use electric-powered wheelchairs. (Full article...)
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The San Francisco Golden Gaters were a charter franchise of World Team Tennis (WTT). The Golden Gaters won two Western Division Championships and lost in the WTT Finals both times. The team was founded in 1973 and made the playoffs in each of the five seasons in which it participated in the league. Following the 1978 season, eight of the then 10 WTT franchises folded leaving only the Golden Gaters and the Phoenix Racquets prepared to participate in the 1979 season. WTT suspended operations of the league in March 1979, ending the Golden Gaters existence. (Full article...)

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General images

The following are images from various tennis-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1The Melbourne Sports and Entertainment precinct on the banks of the Yarra River in 2010. (from Australian Open)
Image 2Wang Xinyu was part of the winning women's doubles team in 2023. (from French Open)
Image 3Su-Wei Hsieh was part of the 2023 winning women's doubles title. It was her sixth major title and her fourth Wimbledon title. (from Wimbledon Championships)
Image 4Centre Court at Wimbledon in May 2019 (from Wimbledon Championships)
Image 5A Royal Marines Commando as a services steward in 2005. (from Wimbledon Championships)
Image 6Chris Evert, the all-time record holder in women's singles. (from French Open)
Image 7Rod Laver Arena, the main court of the Australian Open, in 2023. (from Australian Open)
Image 8Debenture of the All England Lawn Tennis Ground Ltd., issued 20. August 1930. (from Wimbledon Championships)
Image 9Bill Tilden, a joint all-time record holder in men's singles (from US Open (tennis))
Image 10Markéta Vondroušová, the 2023 ladies' singles champion. It was her first major title. (from Wimbledon Championships)
Image 11Roger Federer, the all-time record holder in men's singles. (from Wimbledon Championships)
Image 12Rafael Nadal, the all-time record holder in men's singles. (from French Open)
Image 13Martina Navratilova, the all-time record holder in women's singles. (from Wimbledon Championships)
Image 14Margaret Court Arena at the Australian Open in 2005 prior to its redevelopment. Rod Laver Arena is in the background. (from Australian Open)
Image 15People watching the Championships' broadcast in Canary Wharf. (from Wimbledon Championships)
Image 16The order of play for all courts is displayed on boards around the grounds. (from Wimbledon Championships)
Image 17Wimbledon ball girl at the net, 2007. (from Wimbledon Championships)
Image 18Novak Djokovic, the all-time record holder in men's singles. (from Australian Open)
Image 19The Royal Gallery at Centre Court, Wimbledon. (from Wimbledon Championships)
Image 20Lyudmyla Kichenok was part of the 2023 winning mixed doubles title. It was her first major title overall. (from Wimbledon Championships)
Image 21Hsieh Su-wei was part of the 2024 winning women's doubles and mixed doubles team. It was her seventh major title in women's doubles and first major title in mixed doubles. (from Australian Open)
Image 22Court 10. On the outside courts there is no reserved seating. (from Wimbledon Championships)
Image 23New Show Court Arena that opened in 2022. (from Australian Open)
Image 24Sébastien Grosjean takes a shot on Court 18 during the 2004 Championships. (from Wimbledon Championships)
Image 25Jan Zieliński was part of the 2024 winning mixed doubles team. It was his first major title. (from Australian Open)
Image 26Hsieh Su-wei was part of the winning women's doubles team in 2023. (from French Open)
Image 27Molla Mallory, the all-time record holder in women's singles (from US Open (tennis))
Image 28Jannik Sinner, 2024 men's singles champion. It was his first major title. (from Australian Open)
Image 29Austin Krajicek was part of the winning men's doubles team in 2023. It was his first major title. (from French Open)
Image 30Wesley Koolhof was part of the 2023 winning men's doubles team. (from Wimbledon Championships)
Image 31Ivan Dodig was part of the winning men's doubles team in 2023. It was his third major title and second at the French Open. (from French Open)
Image 32The Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup (from Australian Open)
Image 33Composition of the courts. (from French Open)
Image 34Carlos Alcaraz, the 2023 gentlemen's singles champion. (from Wimbledon Championships)
Image 35Rod Laver Arena night session in 2007, the last year the tournament used the Rebound Ace surface. (from Australian Open)
Image 36Richard Sears, a joint all-time record-holder in men's singles (from US Open (tennis))
Image 37Barbora Strýcová was part of the 2023 winning women's doubles title. It was her second major title and her second Wimbledon title. (from Wimbledon Championships)
Image 38Matthew Ebden was part of the 2024 winning men's doubles team. It was his second major title and first at the Australian Open. (from Australian Open)
Image 39Bill Larned, a joint all-time record holder in men's singles (from US Open (tennis))
Image 40View from seats of Wimbledon Court No. 1. (from Wimbledon Championships)
Image 41Todd Woodbridge holding the Gentlemen's doubles silver challenge cup in 2004 (from Wimbledon Championships)
Image 42Aryna Sabalenka, 2024 women's singles champion. It was her second major title and her second at the Australian Open. (from Australian Open)
Image 43Arthur Ashe stadium in 2010, before the retractable roof was added. (from US Open (tennis))
Image 44Mate Pavić was part of the 2023 winning mixed doubles team. It was his first mixed doubles title at Wimbledon, third mixed doubles major title, and sixth overall major title. (from Wimbledon Championships)
Image 45Tim Pütz was part of the winning mixed doubles team in 2023. It was his first major title. (from French Open)
Image 46The Ladies' (top) and Gentlemen's singles trophies (from Wimbledon Championships)
Image 47Court Philippe Chatrier during the 2013 French Open. (from French Open)
Image 48Elise Mertens was part of the 2024 winning women's doubles team. It was her fourth major title and second at the Australian Open. (from Australian Open)
Image 49Rohan Bopanna was part of the 2024 winning men's doubles team. It was his first major title. (from Australian Open)
Image 50New Rod Laver Arena entrance added in 2018 as part of the Melbourne Park redevelopment. (from Australian Open)
Image 51Rafael Nadal holding the Coupe des Mousquetaires in 2006. (from French Open)
Image 52Commemorative plaque at Court 18 marking the longest tennis match in history. (from Wimbledon Championships)
Image 53Miyu Kato was part of the winning mixed doubles team in 2023. It was her first major title. (from French Open)
Image 54Aerial view of the grounds (from Wimbledon Championships)
Image 55Margaret Court, the all-time record holder in women's singles. (from Australian Open)
Image 56Novak Djokovic, the 2023 men's singles champion. It was his record-breaking twenty-third major title and his third at the French Open. (from French Open)
Image 57Wimbledon operates a ticket resale system where returned Show Court tickets can be purchased. All proceeds go to charity. (from Wimbledon Championships)
Image 58Spencer Gore, the winner of the inaugural Wimbledon Championship (from Wimbledon Championships)
Image 59Neal Skupski was part of the 2023 winning men's doubles team. (from Wimbledon Championships)
Image 60Iga Świątek, the 2023 women's singles champion. It was her fourth major title and her third at the French Open. (from French Open)
Image 61Arthur Ashe Stadium with the roof closed in 2018. (from US Open (tennis))

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Kenin at the 2023 French Open

Sofia Anna "Sonya" Kenin (born November 14, 1998) is an American professional tennis player. She has a career-high ranking by the WTA of No. 4 in the world, which she achieved on March 9, 2020. She was the 2020 WTA Player of the Year, an award she earned by winning the 2020 Australian Open and finishing runner-up at the 2020 French Open. Kenin has won another four singles and four doubles titles on the WTA Tour, including the 2019 China Open and 2024 Miami Open at the WTA 1000-level with Bethanie Mattek-Sands.

When Kenin was a child, she drew the attention of veteran coach Rick Macci at the age of five and became a celebrity in the tennis community soon after. Coached primarily by her father, Kenin developed into a promising junior player, reaching No. 2 in the world after winning the Orange Bowl at the age of 16 and finishing runner-up in the 2015 US Open girls' singles event the following year. She also won the USTA Girls 18s National Championship during that summer. On the professional tour, Kenin made her debut in the top 100 of the WTA rankings in 2018 as a teenager. She won her first three titles in 2019 and finished the year just outside the top 10. With her title at the 2020 Australian Open, Kenin became the youngest American to win a major women's singles title since Serena Williams in 1999. At the end of the 2019 season, she followed up her Most Improved Player of the Year award by being named the WTA Player of the Year of 2020. (Full article...)

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